Odin Drinks the Mead of Poetry and Rune Wisdom Telesummit
My name is Michael Conneely and I have taught the Runes for 23yrs. You can enroll on my Runes Course at: www.rune-path.com
And there is also a wonderful worldwide Runes Telesummit where I am one of the teachers. It’s run by Kim Wilborn of Guardian Gateways from Monday 22nd October to Friday 2nd November, and you can find out all about the Telesummit and join in using this link: http://www.mcssl.com/app/?Clk=5626781
The runes are the alphabet of the ancient Norse and the Germanic peoples of northern Europe. I use the Elder Futhark of the ancient Norse people. The names for each rune vary a bit geographically, but each Rune is not only a letter of the alphabet. It is also a Gateway to knowledge and insight about our life. The meanings of the runes were seized by the great Warrior Magician God, Odin, as he led the Folk Northwards, when he hung upside down trancing in the World Tree for nine days, and on the last day he fell from the tree screaming the meaning fo the runes that he had seen in the twigs and branches of Yggdrassil. Each Rune tells us something about a special area of life. And each Rune can be used to tell us about how we are doing in that area of life: doing well? or doing badly! So, for example, the first Rune, Fehu, is the rune of value and wealth, and if we study and work with it we find out how we are doing with that principle in our own individual life. And this perception gives us a chance to heal and transform around that issue. I teach the meaning of each rune, worldwide, using a presentation and a journey. But I also teach a deeper connection to each rune, to greatly enhanced our connection, by also practicing Rune Stance and Galdr (rune chant). This is where deep, body and mind connection, that deep individual lessons are seen. In this video we hear how Odin not only seized the Magic of the Runes, he also contacted his own deep inspiration when he drank the Mead of Poetry:
You can read all about Odin and the gifts he won for humanity in my Novel Rune Magic. It’s available on Amazon worldwide, as paperback or Kindle. In this passage, Declan, the hero of the novel, tells how Odin drank the Mead of Poetry:
‘Odin was a warrior and leader before he seized the magic of the runes. But, now, he was a magician as well. And he was not just a magician. He was a shape-shifter too. When Odin seized the magic of the runes and drank of the well of wisdom, Odin learned the ways and the great wisdom of the animals. Unless you have journeyed, you cannot fully appreciate the special power each animal has.
‘Four animals in particular became Odin’s fylgja, his power animals that is. These were the four animals who shared part of their soul with Odin. And also they became part of his soul; these four animals became his allies in his great work. His special fylgja were the two Ravens: Hugin and Munin, and the two wolves Geri and Freki.
‘But even now, Odin realised that as the leader of the folk, his powers were not as complete as they needed to be. The next thing that Odin was driven to realise was that even magic and wisdom together are not enough. They can’t be operated in a vacuum. They must be communicated to others. We are all part of the Web. You have a duty to use your magic wisely for the good of other people.
‘It’s a long story, but by trickery and shape-shifting Odin also managed to swallow the Mead of Poetry: magical communication. This mead was the blood of the murdered dwarf Kvasir, into which the essences of the Aesir and Vanir – the races of gods – had also been mixed in. And the whole was then fermented with honey. Poetry is sweet!
‘Just to get to the Mead of Poetry, Odin had to go to immense lengths, immense lengths. He bargained, he exploited and he tricked the very shifty inheritors and guardians of the mead, then he shape-shifted into a serpent to get into the cave where it was held, then he shape-shifted again into a beautiful young man to trick the maiden who guarded it into giving it up. Then he shape-shifted again into an eagle to escape with his belly-full of inspiration.
‘Now Odin had seized the magic of the runes, he had drunk from the well of wisdom, and he had drunk the mead of poetry. That was how Odin became the god he is. And he is now helping me to follow him. This is the road I will now travel.’ Declan looked bemused and reached out to touch Magda’s hand.
You can enrol on my Runes Course at: www.rune-path.com
You can find out all about the wonderful worldwide Runes Telesummit and join in below:
[button link=”http://www.mcssl.com/app/?Clk=5626781″ type=”big” newwindow=”yes”] Join the Runes Telesummit FREE[/button]
And here are my novels:
Rune Magic
Sacred Earth
Druid
The Tribe
And I teach an Ogham Course as well: www.druidforestschool.com/ogham
